3 summer resort towns in Wisconsin worth visiting in winter

Cave Point County Park takes on a coat of ice in winter.(Photo: Jon Jarosh/DCVB)

Summer is prime travel season in Wisconsin.

But in a state where winter seems to last most of the year (especially this year), cabin fever is real, and we all need a getaway.

Traditionally summer vacation spots used to shut down in the winter — businesses closed or hours were limited. Some still do, but many businesses are staying open during slower winter months, drawing visitors with year-round and winter-only attractions plus off-season deals.

Here are three summer resort towns worth visiting in the winter.

Fish Creek

Traffic is bumper-to-bumper in this hopping Door County town in the summer. But crowds thin in the winter, especially after the holiday travel season.

Door County is known for its cherries, wineries and beautiful natural landscapes. You can still enjoy all three in winter, with added winter activities.

A couple cross-country skis at Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek.(Photo: John Nienhuis/DCVB)

Things to do: Peninsula State Park is Wisconsin’s second most popular state park. In winter, the park’s bike and hike trails transform into ski and snowshoe trails. Sledders slide down the 17th fairway and ice fishermen drop lines for perch and walleye in Green Bay. The park also has 17 miles of snowmobile trails.

On the east side of the peninsula, Whitefish Dunes State Park and Cave Point County Park between Whitefish Bay and Jacksonport feature large ice formations on white-gray dolomite cliffs along Lake Michigan.

A family walks between the Range Lights at The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor.(Photo: John Nienhuis/DCVB)

The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor was Wisconsin’s first land trust and protects a unique ridges-and-swale landscape along Lake Michigan, plus historic Range Lights, which turn 150 in 2019. Guided snowshoe hikes are offered on Fridays and Saturdays January through March for $8 ($5 for members, kids 18 and under are free); snowshoes are an additional $5. Visit March 1-2 for Owl-O-Rama and learn about the beautiful birds with meet-and-greets, a night hike and nesting-box building.

Eat and drink: Door County is home to eight wineries. Get a taste of three on a Winter Wine Tour & Sleigh Ride with Door County Trolley. The five-hour tour also includes a fireside lunch at the English Inn in Fish Creek. Tours are offered at 10 a.m. Saturdays (through March) and cost $66.95 per adult.

For beer, head across the peninsula to Door County Brewing Co. In Baileys Harbor. The brewery opened a new tap room and music hall in 2017 and serves up a variety of beers including experimental IPAs under its Hacienda Beer Co. Brand. Milwaukeeans will recognize that name — the brewery is opening a taproom at 2018 E. North Ave. this year. The kid-friendly Baileys Harbor tap room has non-alcoholic and gluten-free options, and snacks such as a pretzels and cheese boards available for purchase (patrons can also bring in their own food).

Wild Tomato, with locations in Fish Creek and Sister Bay (and soon in Egg Harbor), is a favorite for wood-fired pizza and craft beer. The popular restaurant also offers carry-out, but take advantage of shorter wait times in winter and dine in the rustic-chic dining room.

The historic White Gull Inn in Fish Creek is one of the few spots that offers one of the peninsula’s famous fish boils in winter, in addition to breakfast, lunch and candlelight dinners. Reservations are recommended for the fish boils and dinner.

Stay: Homestead Suites, next to Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek, has hotel amenities including an indoor pool and hot tub, free continental breakfast and exercise room. The Winter Package special costs $329 for two nights, includes a $50 gift certificate to Alexander’s Restaurant, a wine and cheese basket and a third night for $50. It’s valid for certain suites on Friday and Saturday nights November through April. Call (800) 686-6621 to book or see homesteadsuites.com for other deals.

Fish Creek’s Thorp House Inn has cottages and rooms starting at $199/night (two-night stay minimum) through April 18. See thorphouseinn.com.

Minocqua

This quintessential Northwoods lake town trades its pontoon boats for ice fishing shanties and ATVs for snowmobiles in winter. Silent sports enthusiasts can also find fun on expansive state and national forest land.

Things to do: In the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest east of Minocqua, the Raven Trail system offers designated loops for skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking. A shelter on the north end of the system is stocked with firewood for a mid-ski warm-up. Find the trailhead off Woodruff Road north of Highway 47.

The Raven Trails in the Northern Highland American Legion State Forest near Woodruff have designated trails for snowshoeing.(Photo: Chelsey Lewis/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Minocqua Winter Park, southwest of town, has more than 100 kilometers of trails groomed for skiing, plus snowshoe and fat-bike trails, a tubing hill, ice-skating pond, lessons and rentals. Ski rates are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $10 for kids (6-18) and free for younger kids.

Northwoods Zip Line offers zip-line tours year-round. Bundle up for a winter adventure on nine zip lines and five adventure bridges. The 2.5-hour tour is offered daily beginning at 9 a.m. and costs $105 per person.

The Minocqua area has more than 1,600 miles of groomed snowmobile trails. Adventure North Snowmobile Tours and Rentals offers 3-hour guided tours and snowmobile rentals mid-December through April 1. Tour rates start at $140 per snowmobile; rentals start at $175 during the week. Operators must be 18 years old with a driver's license; anyone born after Jan. 1, 1985, must pass a DNR online safety course ($24.50, snowmobile-ed.com/wi).

On Highway 51 near the Minocqua Area Chamber of Commerce, snap a photo with (but don't climb on) Snowmy Kromer, a 30-foot snowman that gets its name from its custom-made size 96 Stormy Kromer hat.

Eat and drink: Norwood Pines is a classic Wisconsin supper club northwest of Minocqua. Belly up to the bar for an ice cream drink or old-fashioned, then settle in near the fireplace for a meal of steak or seafood (including a Friday fish fry), with the usual supper club add-ons and appetizers of warm bread and a relish tray.

The Hazelhurst Pub, south of Minocqua, looks like any other Northwoods bar, but the food, including thin-crust pizza and a Friday fish fry, are a step above the typical frozen-to-fried fare. It's a popular spot for snowmobilers cruising the Bearskin Trail that runs behind the pub.

Rocky Reef Brewing Co., north of Minocqua in Woodruff, serves a variety of brews from IPAs to porters. Barrel-aged varieties are occasionally on the menu, and the brewery has plans for sours in the future. Visitors can bring their own food into the brewery, which also fills growlers and crowlers.

Stay: The Waters of Minocqua, south of town, has modern rooms and suites with Northwoods touches — log headboards, fireplaces in some rooms — plus a 10,000-square-foot indoor waterpark. Winter offers include a second night at 50% off (must call 715-358-4000 to reserve).

Within walking distance of downtown Minocqua, the Pointe Hotel and Suites overlooks 800 feet of frontage on Lake Minocqua. The waterfront setting provides access to snowmobile trails on the lake and beyond.

The Beacons, also on Lake Minocqua, offers condos, cabins and a cottage for rent. The resort has direct access to snowmobile trails, an ice-skating rink and a sledding hill. Rates drop in late winter and early spring.

Wisconsin Dells

The Wilderness Resort’s Wild WaterDome has a glass roof that allows visitors to bathe in natural light without leaving the state.(Photo: Courtesy of Wilderness Resort)

The Waterpark Capital of the World draws visitors to its massive indoor waterparks in winter. They’re a good way to get a dose of warmth without getting on a plane — especially at the Wilderness Resort, where the glass-ceiling Wild WaterDome lets in sunlight for a dose of Vitamin D while you splash in America's largest indoor wave pool.

Enjoy the tropics, but also explore the Dells' quieter natural side in winter.

Things to do: Mirror Lake State Park has some of the best cross-country ski trails in the state park system. There are also trails for snowshoeing and hiking, plus the frozen lake is open to all uses. Don't miss Fern Dell Gorge, a sandstone gorge where large ice falls form in the winter.

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Rocky Arbor is a small state park north of downtown Dells with a 1-mile hiking and snowshoeing trail that travels along a scenic sandstone gorge. The park’s main gate is closed in winter, but you can park there and walk in.

Christmas Mountain Village is a good ski hill for beginners, with 16 downhill runs, cross-country ski and snowshoe trails, and tubing.

Cascade Mountain, about 20 miles southeast of the Dells near Portage, offers night skiing plus one of the best deals in the state for families: kids 12 and under ski free with a paid adult. The ski hill also has a tubing hill that’s open the same hours as the ski hill: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Winter is spa season, and Sundara in Wisconsin Dells is one of the best in the state. The adults-only resort and spa recently expanded, with more wellness offerings and suites that feature private balconies with a fireplace and a heated, oversized hot soak tub.

The new Woodland Suites at Sundara feature a private balcony with a heated, over-sized hot soak tub and fireplace.(Photo: Sundara Inn & Spa)

Eat and drink: Del-Bar is a classic Wisconsin supper club in a Prairie-style building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé James Dresser. Dine between 4:30 and 5:55 p.m. for special prices on entrees including pan-fried walleye, char-grilled Scottish salmon and cold-water lobster tail.

Port Huron Brewing Co., about a mile east of downtown, serves up brews in its tap room and tours of the adjacent brewery.

Southwest of town, Baraboo Bluff Winery lives up to its name, with views of the rolling Baraboo Hills from large windows in the tasting room.

A Winter Wonderland Tour with Wisconsin Dells Trolley Tours includes a sleigh ride at Red Ridge Ranch and stops at Baraboo Candy Company, Fawn Creek Winery and lunch at Buffalo Phil’s Restaurant. The all-ages tour is $60 for adults and $40 for kids.

Stay: There are plenty of waterpark resort options, from the Wilderness to the Kalahari. Sundara is an adults-only option with upscale rooms.

The recently renovated River Inn is within walking distance of downtown and, as the name suggests, offers views of the Wisconsin River and its sandstone bluffs.

The Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake, near Lake Delton, was Frank Lloyd Wright's final commission in Wisconsin and one of the smallest homes he ever designed.(Photo: Ken Hanson)

In Mirror Lake, the Seth Peterson Cottage is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cottage that sleeps four. It usually books far in advance, but reservations are easier to get in the off-season (March and April in particular). Rates start at $325 per night with a two-night minimum.